Could a New Crackdown on Drugs Increase Crime?

For Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the only way to reverse rising violent crime rates is to lock up as many drug offenders as possible. “We know that drugs and crime go hand-in-hand,” Sessions said this month. “Drug trafficking is an inherently violent business. If you want to collect a drug debt, you can’t file a lawsuit in court. You collect it by the barrel of a gun.” Drugs do fuel crime, Want to read more? Please subscribe to The Crime Report!

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TCR AT A GLANCE

Legislatures around the country are considering—and passing—bills to tighten rules governing the use of criminal informants. The “new wave of reforms” is long overdue for a practice that has historically been secretive and under-regulated, writes a University of California law professor.

The FBI says homicides rose nearly 9 percent last year over 2015, but a deeper look at the numbers suggests that a significant portion of the increase can be traced to individual neighborhoods in a few big cities.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, who has spent most of her career in family court, has emerged as the front runner to lead the 250-attorney office of the U.S. attorney for south Florida. She has no federal law enforcement experience but is supported by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Gov. Rick Scott.